Kayak

With their instrumental prowess and the facility of keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel at writing lyrics in English, you might be forgiven for mistaking Kayak for a bunch of clever proggers from London. But this Dutch band began in the city of Hilversun. Stylistically, they featured the chops of progressive acts like Yes and Genesis, but the pop song structures of Supertramp and the Alan Parsons Project. The group's third album, 1975's Royal Bed Bouncer, was their most evenly balanced set of pop and prog, and became a commercial and artistic high point for Kayak. Their mid-'70s touring in support of Queen was a move that influenced the flavor of their later work in the late '70s and early '80s.